1. Field
This application relates to an electronic shelf label tag and an electronic shelf label system for separately transmitting display data and change command data using time-division transmission, and an operating method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a paper tag scheme in which product price information is manually written or printed on paper tags has been traditionally used as a scheme for displaying product information for customers on product display stands. However, such a paper tag scheme is disadvantageous in that paper tags need to be replaced whenever product price information is changed or the products on a product display stand are changed.
Research on and development of an electronic tag (hereinafter referred to as an electronic shelf label (ESL) tag) able to overcome the disadvantages of paper tags has been underway. Recently, electronic shelf label tags have been applied to a number of product display stands. Such an electronic shelf label system, including a plurality of electronic shelf label tags, may be installed in a store.
However, with existing electronic shelf label systems, cases in which the prices of specific goods (or products) displayed in the store should be simultaneously changed at a specific time may arise.
By way of example, in a case in which changes in the prices of products, such as fish and shellfish, collectively occur at a specific time in the evening, the products for which prices are to be changed, the time of the change in the price, and a discount rate thereof may be set in advance. However, when a server generates data to be transmitted to the electronic shelf label tag and transmits the data to a plurality of electronic shelf label tags via a repeater (e.g., a gateway) at the time at which the change in the price is set to occur, a transmission error may occur while the server is transmitting the data to thousands to tens of thousands of electronic shelf label tags at the set specific time, thereby making it impossible for the plurality of electronic shelf label tags to simultaneously display the same information.